Warner Bros. has officially announced a massive expansion of the Studio’s DC Comics-branded movie universe with plans to release a slate of at least ten movies — as well as additional stand-alone Batman and Superman films — from 2016 through 2020, expanding the DC universe very much in the same way Marvel has developed their Avengers universe, which expanded further with Guardians of the Galaxy earlier this year.
Here’s the official plans for future Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema releases of DC Comics movies, not including said stand-alone Batman and Superman films:
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on March 25, 2016
- Suicide Squad directed by David Ayer (Fury) on August 5, 2016
- Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot on June 23, 2017
- Justice League Part One directed by Zack Snyder and starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams on November 17, 2017
- The Flash starring Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin) on March 23, 2018
- Aquaman starring Jason Momoa on July 27, 2018
- Shazam starring Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam on April 5, 2019
- Justice League Part Two directed by Zack Snyder on June 14, 2019
- Cyborg starring Ray Fisher on April 3, 2020
- Green Lantern on June 19, 2020
The dates are guesses at this point based on previously announced untitled DC films so within years where there are two releases they may swap dates, but for now this appears to be the plan, and for now I think we have more than enough to keep us busy with superhero rumors for the next several years. Hell, look at Doctor Strange right now.
Additional news in the announcement includes word WB will release three pictures, in 2016, 2018 and 2020, based on best-selling author J.K. Rowling’s original story and screenwriting debut, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them with the first hitting theaters on November 18, 2016.
Set in an extension of her familiar wizarding world, featuring magical creatures and characters inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook and its fictitious author, Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts will be directed by David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter movies, and reunite the filmmaking team of David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram.
Warner Bros. Pictures will also release three LEGO-branded films over the next four years, building upon the enormous success of this year’s The LEGO Movie ($468 million worldwide box office), starting with Ninjago on September 23, 2016, directed by Charlie Bean and produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Batman will take a star turn in The LEGO Batman Movie on May 26, 2017, directed by Chris McKay, and the sequel, The LEGO Movie 2, will debut on May 25, 2018.
